Last week we covered the issue of that they should issue fit notes to ESA claimants who have lodged an appeal against a finding that they are capable of work.
For claimants refused a fit note the consequences can be severe. Either they are forced to try to survive a period of severe destitution or they have to claim benefits as capable of work and risk sanctions.
Following our article we have been contacted by several organisations asking for information they can give to GPs to show that they should still be issuing fit notes in these circumstances.
So, we have now produced a free, downloadable fact sheet on this issue. It isn’t brief, but we’ve tried to include the most important information in the very first paragraph and then go into more details afterwards.
Because all the information in the factsheet is supported by links to verifiable information on government websites, no GP who receives a copy could subsequently argue that they were unaware of their duty to issue fit notes.
We have also produced a sample letter of complaint you can download and adapt if you are still refused a fit note and wish to take the matter further.
Please feel free to comment here if you use these resources or you have any suggestions for changes.
You can download the factsheet and letter of complaint from this page.
